Democrats aren’t up to the challenge on deficit reduction

And
let me just add that paying lip service to the threat caused by the
deficit is not a substitute for responsible leadership and that
job-destroying tax hikes on small businesses and American families are
not the answer to out-of-control Washington spending. At
a time when increasing gas prices are already threatening our economic
recovery, a minivan tax that some on the other side have proposed won’t
solve our nation’s fiscal crisis.

But
I’ll tell you what it will do: it will destroy jobs and impose a real
on burden families every time they fill up at the pump — at a time when
people are looking for relief instead.

Democrats’
steadfast refusal to cut another dime from the bloated Washington
budget has left them no choice, it seems, but to propose raising taxes
on American families and small businesses so that they can continue
spending at unsustainable levels. Republicans, on the other hand, have made a serious proposal to rein in wasteful spending.

So to me, at least, the choice before us is pretty clear. But as we approach
today’s vote, it’s worth noting that even if we were to pass the
biggest spending cuts that have been proposed so far in this debate, it
wouldn’t even put a dent in the fiscal problems we face as a result of
the growth in entitlement spending.

Think
about it: Democrats have been waging war this week over a proposal to
cut $4.7 billion. Meanwhile, the amount of money we’ve promised to
spend on programs like Social Security and Medicare — money we don’t
have — is about $52 trillion.

So
this week’s debate is just a dress rehearsal for the big stuff — and so
far Democrats are showing they’re just not up to it. They either lack
the stomach or the courage, and the president, as members of his own
party point out, is nowhere to be found on the issue.

I’ve
talked about this leadership vacuum repeatedly this week on the
entitlements — and how their unchecked growth threatens to bury all of
us in red ink before we know it. We
can argue about whether to cut $5 billion or $60 billion in day-to-day
expenses all we want — but the fact is, even if we hit the bigger
number we’re still staring at a catastrophe.

This
morning, the U.S. Trade Representative is set to testify before the
Finance Committee to voice the administration’s support of a trade
agreement with South Korea.

And
while we support the administration’s position on South Korea, the lack
of leadership on these two other countries which signed Free Trade
Agreements with us more than three years ago is disheartening.

The
reason for inaction is stunning: union bosses don’t want to see them
passed. For some reason they seem to think that expanding the market
for U.S. goods into Colombia and Panama somehow hurts them — which is
absurd.

The
Administration has previously expressed tepid support for these deals,
an acknowledgement that expanding markets for U.S. goods can only help
U.S. workers, and that the picture in Colombia is better than the labor
bosses would have us believe.

But they’ve failed to follow through.

The irony
of union opposition to these trade deals is that an expanded U.S.
presence in a Latin American country can only help the workers there,
by exporting U.S. business standards and practices. And of course more
exports for U.S. firms mean more jobs for U.S. workers.

In
the last few weeks, company after company has come before Congress to
testify how important accessing Latin American markets is for their
future, and to create jobs here. According
to the Chamber of Commerce, failing to pass these trade agreements
along with the trade agreement with South Korea could cost us 380,000
U.S. jobs.

While
we’ve dithered on these agreements, Colombia has moved on. Having been
stiff-armed by the United States, it’s finding other trade partners. Naturally,
Colombia has turned to other countries and, worse still, is warming
relations with Hugo Chavez in neighboring Venezuela.

Last
week, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos was quoted referring to
Chavez as his "new best friend" — a man who just last year accused
Santos of plotting to assassinate him.

At
a time when nearly 14 million Americans are looking for work, the president should be listening to those of us who come to him with ways
to create jobs. And this is one of them.

The Administration has no excuse for failing to act on these trade agreements. It’s in the clear interest of the country to approve them. It would create jobs here at home at a time when we desperately need them.

I am confident Congress could pass these on a bipartisan basis today. I urge the administration to act today, and not just on South Korea but on Colombia and Panama. I, for one, am prepared to do everything in my power to pass these agreements together this year.